Treasury Closing Summary: Treasury Closing Summary: Treasuries stumbled on the opening day of March trade Monday as NASDAQ reclaimed a 15-year high of 5k and a $22 B package of Actavis debt loomed over the fixed income market in absence of sovereign supply. With the Fed leaning toward a summer tightening launch and data mostly damp heading toward Friday's payrolls, traders were mainly sidelined and easily swayed by bearish hedging and flows. Even after another China rate cut overnight, the personal income report, ISM and construction spending all came in under median forecasts.

13:58 EDT

Averages trading in narrow range in record territoryThe major equity indexes remain in positive territory in afternoon trading, as they have been since the open. The Nasdaq was the early leader, as it eclipsed the 5,000 mark for the first time since 2000, but since it hit that round number milestone the Dow has strengthened and taken over as the leader in terms of percentage gains. Advancing stocks are ahead of declining stocks by 5:4 and crude oil prices recovered to rise over 1% after being down early in the session. In afternoon trading, the Dow is up 121 points, the Nasdaq is up 28 points and the S&P is up 8 points.

13:40 EDT

Fed's Beige Book preview: Fed's Beige Book preview: the Beige Book (Wednesday) for the March 17, 18 FOMC meeting should continue to report an upside bias to growth. The Fed's summary is again likely to characterize the expansion as "modest" to "moderate" after most contacts around the 12 Districts expected to see faster growth in coming months. Consumption probably was decent, but with some pockets of weakness considering the drop in January spending reported today. Weather may have been stated as a limiting factor too. Manufacturing and non-manufacturing services should have expanded a bit. Look for some chatter on the negative impacts from the drop in oil prices and the port strike. The report can repeat that payrolls expanded moderately, while wage pressures remained mostly limited to workers with specialized technical skills. Some firms have also been reporting they were increasing starting pay or were moving above the minimum wage to help retain their workforce. Price pressures may have increased slightly as well.

Euro zone prices drop less than expected, unemployment falls, Reuters saysPrices in the euro zone dropped 0.3% last month, versus the 0.4% decline expected by economists, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, the bloc's unemployment rate fell to 11.2% in January from 11.3% in December, the news service quoted the EU as saying. Reference Link

12:05 EDT

FX Action: USD-JPY is bumping into a daily chart trend line FX Action: USD-JPY is bumping into a daily chart trend line, drawn through the December high of 121.85 and the February peak of 120.48. The line now crosses at right around 120.10, which was crossed earlier, though did not hold. A N.Y. close over 120.10 should see the February high targeted.

Energy Action: NYMEX crude shot up to highs of $50.99 Energy Action: NYMEX crude shot up to highs of $50.99, after breaking Friday's $49.91 peak, and resistance at $50.00. Sources regarded the move as technical in nature, noting that Brent crude remains nearly 2% lower on the day, and earlier U.S. ISM data not indicative of ramping up of future demand. Sellers stepped on moves over $51 last week, and more of the same may be in the works now, with prices back into the $50.60 level.